Daily Lessons from Rabbi Heschel
Day 230
“We, however, live on borrowed notions, rely on past perceptions, thrive on inertia, delight in relaxation. Insight is a strain, we shun it frequently or even permanently. The demand, as understood in biblical religion, is to be alert and open to what is happening.” (Who is Man pg. 115-116)
Being “alert and open to what is happening” is a very difficult task. It calls for all of us to not only stop living in/on all of the lies we have been telling ourselves and another(s) for so long, it also demands that we stay fresh, in touch with our inner life and see through different lens, through new glasses each moment as well. Being “alert and open to what is happening” calls for us to suspend our judgmental attitudes, beliefs that we are the smartest people in the room, stubbornness of thought that doesn’t allow for change when new facts, new experiences present themselves, suspending our disbelief and not needing any more certainty than change is constant and more will be revealed.
As I am writing this, I am realizing the enormity of Rabbi Heschel’s wisdom, the depth and necessity to live this way and the arduous road to get here as well. Most of us view what is happening through our old lenses, be they “everything is beautiful”, “life is hard and then you die”, “let me get mine”, “take everything, I don’t need it”, “they are out to get me”, “everyone is love”, etc. and therefore, we cannot be alert to what is happening because we are stuck in old thinking, in old eyes and old ways of reacting, rather than responding to this moment, right here, right now. I am in awe and wonder with this teaching and how, no matter how ‘spiritual’ we claim to be, we are so stuck in these old ways of seeing what is happening now, rather than being “alert and open”.
Even those of us who believe we are “alert and open” fail to realize how much of our old ideas, past traumas’, past errors, past glories, past views color what we are seeing and experiencing. We fail to acknowledge and take into account our how our egos, our goals, our desired outcomes create a film through which we are viewing “what is happening” in this moment. Many of us often fail to realize how much of our “own press” we are buying into and need to prove to everyone how “right” we are, no matter which ‘side’ of an issue we stand, no matter if we are progressive, conservative, and/or middle of the political spectrum, religious spectrum, spiritual spectrum. Some spiritual people fall prey to buying their own press, to seeing things only through one lens and trying to fit everything into their neat, philosophical box and this could help people fall deeper into their own self deception and make them more susceptible to being deceived themselves.
Then we have our politicians and religious leaders who are unable to “be alert and open to what is happening” in the way Rabbi Heschel is speaking about. They are alert to what is happening and they have a canned pitch as to why it is right, wrong, weak, fascist, communistic, socialistic, undemocratic, not what the founding fathers wanted, etc. They are alert to what is happening in order to exploit it for their own gains, not for the sake of nor the betterment of their country, their flock, the stranger, the poor, the needy as Jesus taught, as Moses received from God on Mt. Sinai, as the Buddha imagined once he experienced enlightenment, etc. Our so-called leaders are actually stuck in their own shit and unable to be “open to what is happening” and respond appropriately in real time because of their prejudices, because of their self-deceptions, because of their egos, their hunger for power and their need to be right-none of which allow any of us to be truly able to answer the “demand, as understood in biblical religion”.
In recovery, we call our inability to be “alert and open to what is happening”, “stinking thinking”. It is a way of thinking that can only lead us back to the disastrous way we were prior to our recovery. Remember, recovery, as I am using it, is the path of living that restores our integrity, our decency, our living in truth, kindness, compassion, mercy, and justice without regard to whom we are dealing with and without needing to be right. When we are in recovery, we let go of our need to be right, our need to not forgive, our need to punish, because we can see our own errors, our own need to be forgiven and the suffering we have experienced because of the punishments by another and by ourselves.
OY! With all of my visionary ways, all of my abilities to adapt to what is happening, I also see when I was stuck in old thinking and/or my thinking and unable to hear the call/demand of another who was as, if not more, “alert and open to what is happening” than me. I see how I have deceived myself in this area, at times, and am sitting here with a wry grin at how smart I thought I was. I know, however, I was alert and open more often than not, I know I approach text, wisdom learning, prayer, people with an alertness and an openness the vast majority of time and, immersing myself in this teaching more and more, shows me where I need to improve. I am grateful for my errors as it gives me a better sense of where I need to be more “alert and open to what is happening” in my daily living. From golf to politics, from text to prayer, from fear to hearing the call of today, rather than trying to live in yesterday’s demand, yesterday’s call, yesterday’s deceptions. God Bless and stay safe, Rabbi Mark